Student Service Learning Research Paper

Chapter 1 Introduction

For generations colleges and universities have worked to refine their understanding of how students develop and learn. One solid, evidence-based, programmatic way of increasing development and learning among students is promoting and encouraging participation in service-learning courses (Butin, 2005; Eyler & Giles, 1999; Jacoby, 1996). Service learning is often heralded as a pedagogical strategy with transformative potential (Jones, Gilbride-Brown, & Gasiorski, 2005). Engagement with the local community has been demonstrated to benefit one’s personal conceptualizations of self, others, and societal issues. Involving college students in service learning has long been viewed as a way to help increase learning, student

According to Kendall (1990), scholarly literature recognizes over one hundred different definitions, with hundreds more being added in the two decades since. One of the most widely accepted definitions is that service-learning is a form of “experiential learning in which students engage in activities that address human and community needs together with structured opportunities intentionally designed to promote student learning” (Jacoby, 1996, p. 5). Another useful definition of service learning from an educational pedagogy standpoint is, “learning to promote increased understanding of course content while helping students develop knowledge, skills, and cognitive capacities to deal effectively with complex social issues and problems” (Hurd, 2006, p. 1). Service learning must be curricular in nature, or credit bearing, in which students participate in a service activity that meets an identified community need and reflect on that activity in such a way to help gain further understanding of the course content, a broader appreciation of the discipline, and an enhanced sense of civic responsibility (Bringle & Hatcher,

Student development theory can best be described as “the ways a student grows, develops, progresses, or increases his or her developmental capabilities as a result of enrollment in an institution of higher education” (Renn & Reason, 203, p. 214). Student development theory guides education practices related to promoting student growth and learning. While practitioners and scholars do not completely agree on what constitutes the body of student development theory, they do agree the core theories display several characteristics such as: moving from a less to a more complex way of being (stages or levels), emphasizing the role of individual experiences in the development of the student, and focusing on the role of the institution of education in promoting or inhibiting development (Renn & Reason,